The global melt inclusion C/Ba array: Mantle variability, melting process, or degassing? ...

• Main Authors: Matthews, S, Shorttle, O, Maclennan, J, Rudge, JF
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier BV 2021
• Subjects: Mantle; Carbon; Heterogeneity; Iceland; Melt Inclusions; Decrepitation
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.58022; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/310930

The Earth’s mantle holds more carbon than its oceans, atmosphere and con- tinents combined, yet the distribution of carbon within the mantle remains uncertain. Our best constraints on the distribution of carbon within the up- per mantle are derived from the carbon-trace element systematics of ultra- depleted glasses and melt inclusions from mid-ocean ridge basalts. How- ever, carbon-trace element systematics are susceptible to modification by crustal processes, including concurrent degassing and mixing, and melt in- clusion decrepitation. In this study we explore how the influence of these processes varies systematically with both the mantle source and melting pro- cess, thereby modulating both global and local carbon-trace element trends. We supplement the existing melt inclusion data from Iceland with four new datasets, significantly enhancing the spatial and geochemical coverage of melt inclusion datasets from the island. Within the combined Iceland dataset there is significant variation in melt inclusion ...